Zenarian Language
The Zenarii have a complex language often called Zenarian that few species besides themselves know. Zenarian words can be seen written on the walls of their great underwater cities, and those land animals who wish to hear the language go beneath the sea and listen to the slow and nasal singing of this most strange community. Sounds The only consonants found in Zenarian language are m, ng, l, r, and nh (a nasal palatal approximant, or nasal "y"). The vowel sounds ah, eh (more like an ah and and eh simultaneously than an English e), aw, oh, oo, and uy exist. Additionally, each sound can be spoken in any of four tones. (Zenarii communicate in a very high vocal range, and sometimes human scholars take their speech down an octave in attempting to mimic them, which confuses the Zenarii because they have little to no concept of octaves.) The tones are each a bit less than a whole step apart, and correspond to twice the shortened half steps around which most ninth-world music revolves. I will go into Zenarian script and writing later, but I have no good way to display their symbols and because the language is mostly spoken, I will for the time being write out Zenarian words in a system using Roman characters. For example: Enhanguy (33413) The number corresponds to the tone of the sound, with 1 lowest and 4 highest. Count the sounds to find which sound matches each number. (In case you can't distinguish the sounds, they are e, nh, a, ng, and uy.) Word Order The Zenarian language uses a basic verb-object-subject word order. Adjectives and adverbs will either precede or follow the words they modify, depending on the particular adjective or adverb. Those that precede will in the dictionary be marked with the letter p. and those that follow, with the letter f. Grammar and Morphology N.B. Most information on how a word fits into a sentence is found in its beginning sounds, not its final ones. Bear in mind, on another note, that all the following rules may have exceptions in specific irregular words. Nouns decline, having three different cases plus a plural prefix. The subject form begins with an "ah", the direct object form with an "oh", and the indirect object form with an "oo". A noun is pluralized when one adds "ngeh" (33) to the beginning of it. Pronouns work identically to other nouns, using the same patterns. Eg. The word amngoo translates to "descent". Ngehamngoo then means "descents", and ngehoomngoo means "to the descents". Adjectives match the nouns in case but'' never take on a "ngeh" prefix. They have a prefix of their own, "mol" ("mong" in some older texts, but such a form is considered an archaeism). Most adjectives derive from nouns. "Mol" may be added to the beginning of almost any noun to form a regular adjective meaning something like "like a __" or "posessing a quality of __". After the adjectival prefix, adjectives will contain the "ah", "oh", or "oo" to signify case. Those rare adjectives not formed regularly from nouns will sometimes leave out the "l" sound in the first syllable and begin with only "mo" or "moh", depending on the transliterator. (''N.B. Most regular, noun-derived adjectives will not appear in dictionaries. Look instead for the noun forms.) Verbs do not conjugate personally, but do change to show tense and mood. An indicative verb in present tense begins with M, in past tense with L, and in future tense with Nh. For a continuous action, the prefix "awng" is added. Regularly formed hypotheticals and subjunctives have the prefix-like word "roo-" as well; "roo-" precedes "awng" if both are called for. Conjunctions are practically nonexistent, as they are not needed. (Some call the Zenarian language simple, which it may be.) Dictionary Find below a brief collection of Zenarian words. Nouns appear in singular subject a- form, and verbs appear in indicative present m- form. Amngoo (4321) -- descent Amongahehuy (1333214) -- Zenarian person Ang (23) -- a third-person pronoun, implying respect or kindness Ang (32) -- a third-person pronoun, implying dislike, unkindness, or casualness Engaruy (33413) -- a greeting Menhol (22121) -- eat, feed on Muyngawm (22441) -- move, travel Roo (44) -- maybe, might (have), could (makes a verb potential) Zenarian Writing Most written examples of the language are carved deeply in stone on the buildings of Zenarian cities. Because the Zenarii cannot see, such writings are designed so that a Zenarius can read it with his or her fingers. Click the picture at right to see a rough chart matching sounds with symbols that may help your transliteration, complete with tonal numbers. N.B. Roman transliterations of Zenarian words and texts often leave out the "h" that some linguists include at the end of vowels to clarify the intended sounds. Literature in Zenarian Although most Zenarian city inscriptions are nothing more than street signs and tags of ownership, there are several notable works of literature written in Zenarian. The genre of Zenarian Epics in particular is considered great. It contains lengthy, almost poetic writings about the history of Zenarii interconnected with fictionalized stories concerning individuals involved. Architects often inscribe copies of these on vast city walls, where the public can read them while the originals lie unseen-- or rather, unfelt-- in library vaults. Category:Fauna Category:Marine Category:Language Category:Cultural Category:Zenarii Category:History